Riding with Confidence (new version)
by Elizabeth22068
Summary: A mystery rider and horse come back to Horseland, claiming to be an old student from when Horseland first began. The group is not sure what to think, but they decide to figure out what her goal is in coming back and how it will effect their current lives. The people aren't the only ones left confused, but the horses become suspicious of this new horse that won't even talk to them.
1. A New Sight

**Chapter 1**

An 18-year-old Sarah Whitney rode atop her black mare, Scarlet, as they strolled past a line of horses with riders on them.

"So just last week I had taught you the basics of jumping," Sarah spoke loudly to her class, "Today, we will be working on form. It is important to follow the horses lead and move like the horse moves. Keep your back like the horses and your heels down. You also will slide to the rear of the saddle. Now let me demonstrate."

Sarah positioned Scarlet to the jump and gracefully flew over it. Her class clapped; their eyes wide with excitement to try the jump themselves.

"Alright," Sarah said, as she and Scarlet made their way back, "Who wants to go first?"

Everyone raised their hands almost immediately, making Sarah giggle just by the memory of her being one of these eager students a long time ago. The class ended quickly and Sarah lead Scarlet into the barn where Alma, Molly, Nani, and Bailey were cleaning profusely.

"What's going on here?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Didn't you hear the news?" Molly asked behind a stack on boxes balanced in her arms.

"Apparently an important person is coming to Horseland," Alma said as she swept the floor.

Sarah looked even more confused, but excited all at once, "Really? Who?"

"That's the thing," Bailey said, coming out of the tack room, "I asked my folks and they won't tell me. They said it's a surprise."

"It better be one heck of a surprise if we are being put to work," Chloe and Zoey popped out of nowhere.

"Like, I understand you guys having to do all the cleaning, but us!" Zoey said, looking at her neatly filed nails.

"You haven't even touched a broom yet, much less gave us a helping hand," Molly stated.

"We are giving help," Chloe crossed her arms, "We are giving emotional support for your guys doing all the cleaning."

Nani came to stand next to Sarah, her hands on her hips.

"Crazy how they haven't changed in the slightest, even after all these years," Nani said.

Sarah laughed and led Scarlet into her stall. She unhooked the saddle and began brushing her down.

"Any ideas on who this new special person is?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe it's a popstar!" Zoey said excitedly.

"Or another princess!" Chloe cut in, sitting on top of a stack of boxes.

"Or even better, a prince!" Zoey squealed with delight.

"Whoever it is," Bailey said, tossing two brooms at the Stilton's, "We need to get this place cleaned up and we need all hands on deck."

The two dodged the brooms and Chloe was the first to make an excuse.

"Ahh sorry," She said, "But we just got our nails done yesterday and they cost more than those clothes you're wearing."

"Yes," Zoey continued, "We would hate to ruin them."

They walked out of the barn, leaving the others behind.

"You know," Nani broke the silence, "I lied. They have changed. They've gotten worse."

Everyone laughed and continued on with the cleaning. Hours later, the barn was sparkling. However, more than half of the filth was left stained on the rider's clothes. The quickly left to clean up, as the newcomer was apparently arriving soon.

"So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Calypso asked.

Pepper was the first to chime in, "I heard, from my stall window, that it's an old student from Horseland."

Chili groaned, "Ugh, not another old horse to tell us 'younger' horses what to do."

"According to the gossip going around," Pepper continued, "They are incredibly talented and have won every tournament they have entered."

"Like that even matters," Chili said, "In the end, I hope they don't think I'm going to bow down to them just because of some trophies. I have plenty of my own to brag about."

With that, Chili disappeared deeper into his stall. An hour or so later, the riders came back in, washed and changed, to saddle their horses.

"Hey, I just realized something," Sarah said, putting Scarlet's reins on, "Where's Will and Jimber? I haven't seen them all day."

"He's been acting like a mad man all day," Bailey said, "I recently got him to go out for a trail ride to get a breather. He was just stressing everyone out, so it was better to get him off the farm to clear his head."

"Wow," Molly said, leading Calypso out, "This must be some person if Will is that stressed. I don't think I've ever even seen Will nervous before."

Bailey looked at Molly with wide eyes, "Trust me. You never want to."

They walked out of the barn to their normal spot on the fence that they often sat at when newcomers arrived. Horseland had grown a lot since they were kids. They had to build a whole other barn and more fences to fit the growing number of students.

"It's hard to believe that at one point we were the only student's sitting here, waiting for new people," Alma said, hopping on the fence, "Now look how big it has grown."

"How many years has it even been?" Once more, Chloe and Zoey popped out of nowhere with their horses.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. How old were we when we started?" Bailey asked.

"Well," Sarah thought back, "I think we were around 12 when Nani and I came here."

Before they could continue to revel in the past, hoof beats came running up the dirt road. Will, who was now 21, appeared with mud and grass stains, as well as twigs stuck in his hair.

"What happened to you?" Bailey tried not to laugh.

"Let's not talk about it," Will said.

"Wow, Will," Alma spoke, "You look…"

"Handsome!" Chloe interrupted.

"Cute!" Zoey chimed.

Alma gave an annoyed look at the sisters, "I was going to say exhausted."

"Look!" Bailey called out.

A giant cloud of dust appeared at the hill, signaling that something was coming. Everyone stared eagerly, awaiting the new arrivals. A truck, pulling a small trailer, appeared.

"What is that?" Pepper asked in disbelief.

"I thought you said this horse was crazy famous?" Chili asked Pepper.

"That's what I heard," She spat.

"Hey," Scarlet said, "Never judge someone before getting to know them first. Remember when you judged Sarah and I before getting to know us?"

"And how it bit us in the butt," Button said, "Literally."

She glared at Chili, who ignored her. The car came to a halting stop. The red truck was old and dusty looking, with tires that squealed when applying the brakes. The tiny trail behind the truck didn't look any better. It was scratched up from being on the road for so long, with coats of dust and dry mud covering the bottom half. If someone were to look really close and swipe their hand across the grime, a Horseland logo design would be found.

"What-" Chloe began.

"Is-" Zoey added.

"That?!" Chloe finished with a bit of a screech in her voice.

The two sisters look horrified beyond belief by what they saw in front of them. The car door opened in the passenger side, but nobody could see who came out as the driver side faced them. When the person came into view, she was a mess. It was hard to make out her features in detail by the first appearance she gave off. Her chocolate brown hair was tangled beyond belief with pieces of a tree branch knotted in. Her clothes, that looked like a designer riding uniform, was covered with splotches of mud and grass stains. Her black boots had dry blocks of mud covering them, so it looked as if she tried to make herself a shoe of mud. Her entire body was shivering, and her emerald eyes looked sunken and exhausted. She leaned against the hood of the truck in order to stabilize her body.

"What happened to her?" Molly was the first to ask.

Everyone shrugged and Bailey stated, "She looks like she just came back from a war."

"Or from playing in the mud," Zoey snickered.

Will was the first to approach and basically had to catch the girl before her legs gave out. They thought Will looked like a mess, but between him and the girl, Will looked normal. The two were muttering to one another. They couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but from the tone of Will's insistent voice and the way the girl was shaking her head and trying to pull away, it sounded serious.

"I'm fine," The girl said loud enough for everyone to hear, "I need to get Onyx into the stable."

"You can barely stand on your own," Will said sternly, "We can take care of your horse, but if you want to help him then you need to first help yourself."

Will turned his head towards the group, gesturing his head to grab the horse. He picked up the girl bridal style and headed towards the house. Sarah was the first to jump up and hurried to the trailer where the driver was already leading the horse out. The horse was a magnificent stallion. His body was toned with muscles that showed just how hard he worked for his competitions. He held his head high with confidence and when he looked at the other horses, he huffed and pawed the ground with his front hoof. The other horses felt a bit intimidated and backed away slightly. His eyes were the eyes of a competition horse that never loses. They stared right into their competitor's soul making their insides turn to ice. It almost felt as if he were whispering in their ears, 'I am going to crush you like a grape.'

"What a beautiful horse," Sarah said, taking the reins.

Unlike his rider in the current moment, he was clean and very professional looking. His midnight black coat sparkled in the sunlight as his mane moved every time he turned his head. Within his dark mane were strings of white that could barely be seen unless someone were to pinpoint every strand. There were white speckles covering his face and moved down his neck, disappearing past there. If one were to try and explain the white part, someone might say it looked as if a handful of flour was thrown at his face.

"What kind of horse is it?" Nani asked, stroking his neck.

"I'm sure we can figure that out when his rider gets cleaned up and rested," Bailey said, "Come on, let's show him to the stable."

Once in the stables, the riders had grabbed all their horses to put them in their separate stalls. They fed the new stallion and brushed him down. He was incredibility calm and moved in certain positions to help the riders brush him down easier. The other horses watched in earnest as Bailey finally locked the stall door and the rest of the group walked out.

"Hi, welcome to Horseland," Scarlet started first, "My name is Scarlet, and this is Calypso, Button, Aztec, and Jimber. Then in the corner is Sunburst, Chili, and Pepper. What's your name?"

The black horse didn't say anything, but just stared as if Scarlet was speaking a foreign language. Instead of addressing the others or introducing himself, he disappeared into the stall.

Pepper was the first to huff, "Wow! How rude!"

"Don't be mean, Pepper," Aztec said.

"Yeah," Calypso said, "He's probably worried sick about his rider."

The others didn't say anything but just stared at his stall. Slowly, one by one, each horse moved into their stalls, disappearing from sight.


	2. Trouble Brews

The birds were chirping, and the swift morning breeze drifted across Horseland. Molly was the first to arrive this day, which was odd since her bus had run a bit late today. All the horses, besides Calypso, were put out in the fenced area, showing that the other riders had been here. Confused, Molly said her good mornings to her mare and led her out to where the other horses were grouped.

"The new girl must be doing better," Molly spoke to Calypso, "We might just get to meet her and ask her what happened the other day."

Calypso neighed in response.

"You have fun with the other horses," Molly took off Calypso's reins, "I'm gonna go find the others and see what they're up to."

Calypso nudged Molly and trot off to the others.

"Well look who finally decided to join us," Pepper said, lifting her head.

"Molly's bus ran late," Calypso explained, "It's not uncommon."

"Why doesn't she just get a car like the rest of them?" Chili asked.

"Not everyone is as rich as Chloe, Zoey, and Sarah," Scarlet explained to them, "Some people just need to work a little bit harder for their money."

The two horses gave a 'hmph' and went back to grazing.

Calypso turned her head and asked, "So the new guy still isn't speaking to anyone?"

"No," Button answered, "We tried everything, but all he does is look at us."

"We did hear from one of the riders that his name is Onyx," Aztec said.

"Too bad he didn't tell us his name," Pepper muttered, clearly agitated.

"I think it's clear what he's doing," Chili butt in, like he always does.

"And what do you think that is?" Scarlet asked.

Chili shook his mane before answering, "It's obvious that he is trying to show he's better than all of us by giving us the silent treatment. He must think that, because he's traveled the world and won so many championships, he can treat us like low class horses."

"Don't say that," Button said.

"Besides," Scarlet said, "Remember the horse, Windy. We all thought she was a snob, but in the end, she just couldn't understand us because she spoke a different language."

"This is different," Chili pointed his nose in the air, but didn't explain how.

"I think I'll try one more time," Scarlet said.

"I'll come too," Calypso said.

The two horses walked up to the stallion, who lifted his head when he saw them approach.

"Hi again," Scarlet said, "Mind if we graze with you?"

He just stared at them, no words coming out of his mouth.

"So, I heard your name is Onyx," Calypso stated, trying to make conversation, "That's a very interesting name."

He stared at them some more in silence. He started pawing at the ground with his hoof, digging up the grass and sending dirt flying. Calypso and Scarlet began to slowly back away in fright. He then started stomping with his two front hooves and neighing loudly as if he were trying to scare them away. He started moving backwards, flipping his head side to side.

"Hey!" A voice from the group of horses yelled out.

The entire group came galloping towards Scarlet and Calypso, cutting between them and the new horse.

"What do you think your doing?" Aztec yelled.

"Just because you're some champion doesn't give you the right to act all high and mighty!" Chili shouted.

Onyx, clearly becoming frightened, started rearing up, kicking his front legs in the air. The other's copied his movement and began to stomp on the ground. The earth was shaking from the commotion and the horses back him into the corner of the fence. Onyx plowed through the group, bucking and kicking around the pasture. The riders all came running out of the house to see what all the noise was.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"It's the new horse, Onyx!" Bailey pointed to the crazed horse running around the pasture.

Everyone bolted towards the fenced area.

"Don't go in there!" Sarah warned, "You might get seriously injured."

"How do we stop him?!" Alma asked, frightened.

"Call your horses over," Bailey ordered, "Let's clear out the pasture."

The others began to use their own signals and sounds that their horses knew to bring them towards them. The horses ran to their owners and they quickly pulled them out of the fenced area. Luckily, the horse had stopped bucking the air and was now just running in terrified circles.

"What is wrong with that horse?" Chloe asked, "He could've hurt someone."

"Are you alright, girl?" Zoey pat Pepper's muzzle.

"What's going on here?" Will came running down from the house.

"The new girl's horse is acting crazy," Chloe was, of course, the first to speak, "He could've seriously hurt one of the horses or even us."

"Yeah," Zoey chimed in, "He is out of control."

Will looked over everyone's shoulders towards the black and white speckled horse. He was currently calm, but Will could sense that he was still frightened from whatever commotion made him anxious.

"Well he looks calm now," Will said, "But I'm just going to check up on him. You all tie up your horses over there and wait. We all are going on a trail ride today."

Everyone cheered at the idea and did as Will instructed. Sarah turned her head to check on Will, just in case the horse acted crazy again. She watched with interest as Will started making hand signals towards the horse that looked rather odd. However, it seemed to be working and she just guessed that it was probably something he picked up from working with so many different horses.

"I can't believe that horse," Chloe said, "If you can't control your horse, then don't bring him to a farm that is full of horses. He could've seriously hurt my Chili."

"I hate to say it, but Chloe might just be right," Molly said, hand on chin.

"_Si_, all that jumping could've injured someone badly," Alma said.

"I just hope the horses will get along sooner than later," Sarah said, "I don't know want to think what will happen if he acts up again."

"Hey, who's that?" Nani asked.

A figure of a girl was walking down the steps. She approached the group, and everyone was able to get a better look as she got closer. Her wavy chocolate locks moved with every step and her smile was so bright it could have blinded someone. Her emerald eyes were soft and twinkled as she closed them to breathe the fresh air. She wore an oversized flannel shirt that was tied up around her hips, so it didn't dangle and catch on anything. Instead of riding pants, like she arrived in, she wore grey sweatpants that were tucked into her black boots. Her boots still had excess dried mud stains, but still looked better than the blocks that had coated them before.

"Good morning everyone," The new girl waved kindly.

Chloe and Zoey had clearly already made their opinions about her and stuck their noses in the air, ignoring her. She either didn't notice or didn't care, because she walked right past them towards the others.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Sarah said first, "My name is…"

"Will!" She completely disregarded the group and ran towards Will.

"Ehh…?" Sarah stood frozen, confused as to what just happened.

"Did you just see that?!" Chloe said.

They were talking amongst themselves just like when they first saw her.

Zoey crossed her arms, "Looks like she's more interested in Will than any of us."

Sarah didn't say anything, but just watched Will and the girl walk towards them with her horse, Onyx. He was calm now and completely saddled up, ready for a trail ride.

"Everyone, meet Spencer," Will said.

"Spence for short," She said with a smile.

"Spencer?" Pepper whispered.

"Isn't that a boys name?" Chloe whispered back.

"Spence actually suggested the trail ride this morning," Will said.

"Yeah!" She said, a little too enthusiastically, "I really want to show you guys these trails that I found by wandering around Horseland."

"Oh please," Chloe flipped her hair, "I doubt there's a trail here you could possibly show us that we don't know about."

Will and Spencer looked at one another before laughing.

"I guess we'll see," She winked before mounting Onyx.

"I don't trust this new girl," Chloe said.

"Yeah, who does she think she is?" Zoey asked, "Acting like she knows Horseland better than us."

"Give her a break you two," Bailey said, mounting Aztec, "She's clearly just trying to be friendly."

"_Si_," Alma said, "Bailey is right."

"All we can do is give her a chance," Nani spoke.

"I guess," Molly said, "But I'm afraid I have to side with Chloe and Zoey on this one. I'm still going to keep my eye out for her. There's just something that doesn't sit right with me."

"You guys coming?!" Will shouted back towards the group.

Everyone brought their horses to a quick gallop, following Will and Spencer down the dirt road.


End file.
